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Re: Weekly Minor League Roundup #15: 7/12-7/18

The Bats show some life, unleashing a season’s worth of frustration on the unwitting Gwinnett Braves one night, then winning with a walk-off grand slam the next. Everyone else was generally one up and one down, with the exception of the AZL squad (continued freefall).

7/13: You want to see what happens when a season’s worth of frustration gets unleashed… all in one game? Then peep Louisville’s 22-1 massacre of Gwinnett here- or at least the first two innings and thirteen runs:

The Bats scored in four other innings, too, before game’s end. Phipps led the offense, going 5-for-6 with three runs and a grand-slam homer, #6 (still .180). 2B Chris Valaika returned to action with a grand slam of his own (#4), which came off position player Terry Tiffee. LF Cody Puckett was 3-for-5 with four RBI and homer #3 (.244) and 1B Neftali Soto popped #10 while driving in five (.239). 3B Henry Rodriguez had three hits, three runs, and two RBI (.310), Paul 3-for-5 with two runs (.320) and Gregorius 3-for-6 with a double and run scored. Sean Gallagher eased through six for the easiest W he’ll ever get (W 7-6, 4.84, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K).

7/14: The Braves had their seeming revenge when they chased Chad Reineke in the fourth (4.75, 3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 6 ER) while piling up a four-run advantage. The two clubs went to the bottom of the ninth with the Braves up 8-5. Then:

7/15: Louisville followed up its two great highlights of the previous two days by winning the four-game series finale, 3-2, and taking the series! Pedro Villareal outlasted Gwinnett starter Jose Lugo’s five perfect innings to outduel him in the end and pick up the win (W 3-6, 3.73, 7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). JJ Hoover got save #5 despite serving up a solo homer (1.74, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). A key RBI double by Paul in the sixth put the Bats up 2-1 following Soto’s RBI forceout; Phipps’ infield hit scored 3B Mike Costanzo (.258, 2-for-3, 2B) an inning later with the necessary third run.

7/16: Lefty Ryan Feierabend headed to the hill in Columbus (CLE, 47-48) to try and make it four wins in a row in Batland. Unfortunately, Feierabend got smacked around dieses Abend, as the Clippers chased him in the fifth (L 1-4, 6.75, 4.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 2 E) en route to an 8-2 squashing. Columbus starter Chris Seddon retired the first eighteen Bats he faced before Phipps singled (2-for-4, .189) and Gregorius smacked his first AAA home run to break the shutout.

7/17: Everything went well in Batland here… for six innings, at least. Tim Gustafson (5.56, 5.1 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K) departed with two on and a 4-0 lead, and Nick Christiani got out of the scrape. But the very next inning the Clippers got three off the right-hander (3.57, 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER) to cut the deficit to one. Donnie Joseph allowed the tying run in the home ninth and Kanekoa Texeira (L 0-1, 2.02) gave up the winning run in the bottom of the tenth. Columbus steals one, 5-4. Soto hit homer #11 in the first and Paul was 4-for-5 with four singles, albeit without a run scored or batted in (.332). Miller hit homer #5 (2-for-3, .250).

7/18: Sean Gallagher held the Clippers to four hits over seven (W 8-6, 4.69, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) and JJ Hoover continued to dominate at this level (save #6, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.59) as the Bats triumphed 4-2 and grabbed their first win of this four-game set. Corky Miller homered in the ninth for an insurance run (#6), capping a 3-for-4 day (.263). Phipps added a single, double, and run scored (.190) to go with an outfield assist at the plate and Costanzo two hits (.255).

Transactions: 7/12: INF Chris Valaika returned to action, as did UT Willie Harris. 7/14: INF Paul Janish traded to the Braves in exchange for RHS Todd Redmond, whose career is recapped above. Good on Janish; he’ll get an immediate opportunity in Atlanta with the Braves’ top three shortstops all injured (Andrelton Simmons, Jack Wilson) or struggling badly (Tyler Pastornicky). 7/17: RHS Todd Redmond called up to Cincinnati for temporary depth; OF Felix Perez activated from the DL. 7/18: Redmond back down, exchanged for OF Xavier Paul. OF Bill Rhinehart back up from Pensacola.

Here’s a decent summary of all the recent changes designed to pull the Bats out of “worst in the IL” status.

Around the minors: The Red Sox called up journeyman RHP Justin Germano. The White Sox signed 3B Chris Curley away from the independent Florence Freedom. Houston recalled RHR Enerio Del Rosario for the 16384th time this year. The Dodgers signed none other than legendary infielder Gabe Suarez out of the Mexican League. Miami signed 37th-round draft pick Eddie Sappelt, the younger brother of former Red Dave Sappelt. Eddie's also an outfielder.

AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos

This week: 3-3.

Overall: 15-11 second half, tied for first with Montgomery (TB). 49-46 overall.

7/12: Rained out.

7/13: MAKEUP MADNESS! Tony Cingrani took the hill in game one and didn’t miss as many bats, but the BayBears still couldn’t do much against him. The lefty threw a seven-inning complete game 2-1 win (W 5-1, 1.29, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 100 pitches/63 strikes). C Tucker Barnhart drove in both runs with a double and triple (.278) and CF Ryan LaMarre had two hits (.275). SS Billy Hamilton was 1-for-4 with a single but took both second and third (107/3) when he did get on. The Wahoos made it a sweep in the nightcap, 6-1, by scoring five runs in the third. LF Bryson Smith had a triple and three RBI (.341) and RF Bill Rhinehart knocked in two more. Swingman Mark Serrano worked five (W 6-1, 2.86, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and Wilkin de la Rosa, Curtis Partch, and Drew Hayes finished things out. Hamilton got another theft (108/4) after drawing a walk, although he went 0-for-3 to fall to .182 at this level.

7/14: Jacksonville (FLA, 9-13) got just two hits off Kyle Lotzkar and four total, but took advantage of the Canadian’s wildness to score three in the first and win it 6-1. Lotzkar was gone after four-plus (L 4-4, 5.01, 4 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 2 WP, 3 HB). A Hamilton error didn’t help; Billy got on base three more times with a double and two walks, but got caught in one of his two steal attempts (109/5).

7/15: Pensacola bounced back to even the series with a 6-2 victory. Daniel Corcino threw 6.1 excellent innings (W 7-4, 3.05, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), C Mark Fleury drove in two (.174), and 1B Beau Mills was 2-for-4 with homer #6. Rhinehart is hitting .200 since coming back down to Double-A, but he helped the club by providing a pair of outfield assists, one at second and one at third. In the seventh, Billy Hamilton hit a stand-up, inside-the-park home run on a sinking liner that eluded Suns RF Kyle Jensen and CF Donnie Webb.

7/17: Just like their older brothers to the north, Pensacola lost 5-4 in ten innings. Jacksonville got an unearned run off Serrano (L 6-2) and then Suns’ closer AJ Ramos and his 0.56 ERA shut the Wahoos out in the tenth. Donald Lutz homered in his first game up from High-A, while 3B David Vidal connected for #5. Hamilton was again 1-for-4, this time with steal #6/110 and a run scored (.240). LaMarre had a single, double, and RBI (.273, steal #23). Starter Wirfin Obispo lasted four (2.93, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR).

7/18: Off.

Transactions: 7/17: OF-1B Don Lutz up from Bakersfield, with OF-1B Stephen Hunt returning to the Blaze. 7/18: OF Bill Rhinehart back to Louisville.

High-A Bakersfield Blaze

This week: 4-3.

Overall: 12-15 second half. 53-44 overall. Playoff-bound.

7/12: Jamie Walczak had his best starting performance ever (W 3-2, 5.21, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 2 HR) and RF Steve Selsky bashed a double, triple, and homer (#5, .333, 3 RBI) in Bakersfield’s 4-3 win over Stockton (OAK, 7-14). Three of the Blaze runs came in the first inning, two scoring on Selsky’s double. Kyle McMyne bailed out Brooks Pinckard by striking out the only man he faced for save #4.

7/16: Tim Crabbe took his demotion well (or poorly, depending on how you want to view it); he stymied the Quakes on three hits and one run through eight innings, walking just one (W 1-0, 6 K) in Bakersfield’s 8-1 victory. LF Juan Duran singled, tripled, and drove in three (.232) while Selsky homered again (#7, 2-for-3, 2 R, .323) and 1B Dominic D’Anna drove in a pair with another triple.

7/17: Moose Mattair crushed a two-run homer (#15) in the first in High Desert (SEA, 16-10) but the game ended up more of a pitchers’ duel than the expected offensive explosion. The Mavericks came back to win it, 4-2. Tanner Robles’ shutout innings streak came to an end at eleven (L 1-1, 1.53, 6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HR), although he still pitched reasonably well.

Transactions: 7/12: RHS Tim Crabbe down from Pensacola; RHR Mike Griffin placed on the DL. With the organization’s best slider (tm Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2012), a decent fastball, and control issues- I’ve thought the former 14th-round pick was tailor-made for relief for a while now. Maybe this is the beginning of a re-conversion? 7/17: OF Stephen Hunt back from Pensacola; 1B-OF Don Lutz up to Double-A.

Low-A Dayton Dragons

This week: 2-4.

Overall: 9-16 second half. 39-56 overall.

7/12: After first-round pick Javier Baez’ homer provided the only run of a Peoria (CHC, 7-13) win the day before, the Dragons did a much better job of hitting in this one. Everyone in the lineup took part in a 15-hit parade, as Dayton got five in the seventh and won it 8-5. 1B Sean Buckley led the good guys with three hits and three RBI (still .251/.316/.402, lower than you’d hope given Buckley’s .289/.372/.551 the year before) and SS Juan Perez got three hits, two runs, and steal #16 (.256). LF Juan Silva went 2-for-2 with a RBI, walk, and two steals (18, .270). Yorman Rodriguez was, interestingly, out of the lineup. Stalin Gerson scattered seven hits over six (W 4-6, 4.42, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Mike Dennhardt kept on rolling with two more scoreless innings (2.34, 1 H, 1 K). The 22-year-old may have struck out only 19 in 34.2 IP, but he’s also walked only four and allowed only two home runs.

7/13: Dayton was stymied on two hits as Peoria cruised to an 8-1 rout. Jake Johnson was chased after one (L 1-2, 4.69, 1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER). Cole Green pitched four one-hit innings in garbage time (6.85), but the Dragons couldn’t do much.

7/14: Burlington (OAK, 11-10) made this road series opener a back-and-forth affair, but Dayton hung on to win 7-6. After giving up one run in the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Contreras worked a scoreless ninth to notch save #10 and give Carlos Gonzalez his first win of 2012 (W 1-3, 4.88, 2.2 IP, 1 H, 3 K). Five Dragons had multiple hits, with Rodriguez driving in two (.309) and SS Juan Perez drawing three walks and stealing a pair of bases (18) ahead of him. James Allen (4.04, 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER) struggled after turning in two solid starts.

7/15: After C Nick O’Shea, struggling this whole season, hit a solo homer (#2, 2-for-4, .190) to tie the game at 2, the Bees won it in the home tenth off Ryan Kemp (L 1-2, 4.03, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER) with the help of a Perez error at short. Rodriguez added two more hits; he’s doing well at the plate. Starter Wes Mugarian threw five solid innings (4.97, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Dan Jensen mowed down nine straight Bees (5.43, 3 K).

Transactions: 7/12: INF Junior Arias returned from the DL. 7/14: INF Sammy Diaz promoted from Billings, while OF-3B Spencer Dickinson was placed on the DL with a strained forearm. Diaz, a 21-year-old Venezuelan, had batted .219 in 17 games for the Mustangs this year after a very solid .299/.355/.402 line in 38 games in ’11.

Background on RHR Cole Green’s attempt to bounce back from injuries and a 50-game drug suspension:

Rookie-Pioneer

This week: 3-3.

Overall: 16-13, now tied for first with Great Falls (CHW).

7/12: Orem (LAA, 11-13) pounced on the struggling Sal Romano for a six-spot in the fourth (L 1-2, 5.40, 3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), then dented the plate off relievers Dan Langfield and Jordan Remer as well. Owlz take it, 8-3, knocking Billings into second behind first-place Great Falls. 3B Seth Mejias-Brean slammed his first pro home run and RF Jesse Winker was 1-for-2 with three walks, a double, and a run scored.

7/13: The Bats weren’t the only team blowing up the scoreboard on this day. Billings mauled the Owlz, 22-6, scoring eleven runs in the home eighth to put an exclamation point on things. DH Daniel Pigott was 5-for-6 with a homer (#1) and six RBI (.324). 3B Robert Ramirez drove in five with a pair of doubles. 1B Robert Maddox came in mid-game, but he went 4-for-4 with homer #7 (leading the league) and three RBI (.333). SS Brandon Dailey, from the #9 slot, was 3-for-3 with two walks and two steals- and scored a run each and every time (.317). Drew Cisco pitched just one perfect inning and Jose Amezcua had to pick up the rest of the early game (4.67, 4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER), but it was Alejandro Chacin who got the win in relief (W 2-0, 3.86, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K) after he was tagged with a blown save for allowing some of Erik Miller’s runners to score.

7/15: After five previous starts ranging from excellent to shaky, Robert Stephenson got his first pro win with five very strong innings (W 1-0, 2.10, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) as Billings whipped the Rockies, 9-3. CF Beau Amaral homered (2-for-5, 2 R, .260) and Mejias-Brean was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a double (.269). But it was 1B Carlos Sanchez doing the most slugging- he drove in six runs with a grand slam homer (#4) and two-run single. The 21-year-old Venezuelan has now driven in 24 runs in 22 PL games, tying him for second in the circuit. He’s batting .289/.341/.590.

7/16: Rained out.

7/17: MAKEUP MADNESS! Billings crushed the Rockies into dust in the first game, 15-2, then got stampeded by Grand Junction 6-0 in the nightcap. Ismael Guillon got his second straight win (W 2-1, 3.16, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Gomez (#2, grand slam), Mejias-Brean (#2) and 2B Robert Ramirez (#1) all homered. Jesse Winker was 2-for-4 with three runs scored (.367) and everyone in the Billings lineup hit safely. Six Rockies errors certainly helped. Meanwhile, the tables turned in game two. Billings got six hits and committed three errors as Sal Romano (L 1-3, 6.65, 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) was hit hard. Mejias-Brean did go 2-for-3; the eighth-rounder out of Arizona is off to a .333/.436/.636 start in 11 games. Dan Langfield retired six straight, whiffing four, to end the game (2.31).

7/12: 1B Jhimmy Lopez homered in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie, then righty Abel de los Santos turned in his sixth straight scoreless outing (1 IP, 2 K) to grab the save in a Redlings 4-3 win! The squad snaps a seemingly endless losing streak. RF Argenis Aldazoro was 3-for-4 with two doubles (.255, RBI) and C Josh Kennelly (one of two Australians on the club, the other being Elliott Hargreaves) also homered. Starter Pedro Diaz struck out six (4.50, 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER) but Rehabbin’ Chris Joyce got the win with four more Ks in two innings.

7/13: Off.

7/14: Robert-Lewis Walker gave up the deciding run in the 11th, causing the Indians to eke out a 5-4 win in this latest Battle of the Complex. The Reds went up 4-1 with a seemed insurance run in the ninth, but the Indians got three in the bottom of the ninth off Abel de los Santos and Jackson Stephens to tie. Starter Mike Saunders (24) worked 2.1 (3.18, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), and 31st-rounder Mike Salter (2.38, 2.2 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K) and Vaughn Covington (9.00, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K) did strong relief work.

7/15: Rained out.

7/16: More battles against the Indians; what is this, The Frontiersmen?
Anyway, the Indians continued their winning ways against the Reds, scoring four in the second off Amir Garrett (L 0-2, 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER) with the help of several errors, then hanging on to take it 6-3. Jose Williams threw four innings of shutout ball in relief and Rehabbin’ Chris Joyce added two more, but the Reds didn’t have quite enough to make it back.

7/17: The Angels played errorless ball while the Reds committed four; that more than made up for the good guys outhitting them seven to six. Angels win, 4-2. Wandy Peralta fell to 1-3 (5.57, 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). Lewis-Walker threw a scoreless inning, striking out two. 3B Tanner Rahier has been in an awful slump after a fast start, but here he managed a single and double in four trips with a run scored (.194).

7/18: Off.

Transactions: 7/14: C Ponciano Flores was released; I don’t think he appeared in a game. C Jose Ortiz added to the roster. OF Adam Matthews, 22- a 29th-round pick this year out of South Carolina- was activated.

Re: Weekly Minor League Roundup #15: 7/12-7/18

Originally Posted by Doc. Scott

Transactions: 7/14: C Ponciano Flores was released; I donít think he appeared in a game. C Jose Ortiz added to the roster. OF Adam Matthews, 22- a 29th-round pick this year out of South Carolina- was activated.

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